


Season 03 Irked Me

by DarthGhengis (Ernstpiet), Ernstpiet



Series: Season 03 Irked Me [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Each chapter is an independent story, F/F, F/M, Identity Reveal, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Lila gets hers in all chapters, Miraculous AU, One Lila was slapped in the writing of this fic, One Shot, Romance, Season 3 upset me, This will be multichapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23620018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ernstpiet/pseuds/DarthGhengis, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ernstpiet/pseuds/Ernstpiet
Summary: These chapters are me working out my frustrations at the season and the evil being that is Lila. They are also unconnected to the rest of my one-shots.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alix Kubdel/Lê Chiến Kim, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Chloé Bourgeois/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Emilie Agreste/Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Jagged Stone, Penny Rolling/Jagged Stone
Series: Season 03 Irked Me [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898254
Comments: 114
Kudos: 890
Collections: Lila Anon Support Group





	1. Gifts & Lies

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies for being away for so long, but I'm trying to start writing again - no real excuse, just got really hooked into reading fanfiction.

Gabriel Agreste sighed from where he sat in the garden looking at the statue of his wife he had had commissioned for their anniversary. It was on this day three years ago that she fell into her coma for the final time as well as the day two years ago he had given up on finding a scientific cure and prepared his debut as Hawk Moth.

His emotions tended to overwhelm him every year at this time, and so he was completely alone at this moment – Kerchak Greystoke having the day off as neither he nor Adrien would leave the estate today, Nathalie taking the day off to grieve Emilie in her own way (they had been friends since their school days) and even Nooroo couldn’t manifest since he had removed his miraculous – there would be no akumas this week. A vow he made himself out of respect to his wife and to prove to himself that he wasn’t being corrupted by his path.

He wasn’t particularly saddened or displeased to be alone – Gabriel didn’t crave solitude, but neither was he one to suffer if there was no one around. Not like his Emilie – she was a light to any who met her, and she had always believed the best of people.. even of an emotionally ignorant amateur designer who was too focused on his work to notice those around him..

Gabriel sighed again. Like his son, who would be missing his mother. Perhaps he should go and speak to Adrien? They could watch _Solitude_ again like they had last year, possibly a new family tradition. With that, he got up and headed inside towards Adrien’s room.

Gabriel entered his son’s room quietly enough that Adrien didn’t notice, but just before he announced his presence he saw, or rather heard, a video his son was watching on his tablet – a video made by his classmates and friends, all of which were telling him how much they cared, or wishing they could be there with him.. Gabriel felt a pang of guilt for what he had put some of these kids through, and for trying to keep Adrien from them. Just as the video changed to show the face of a somewhat familiar looking girl with dark blue hair, Gabriel cleared his throat to announce his presence.

*************************************************

Adrien startled at the noise from behind, and paused the video just before he saw what Marinette had said in the message – a fact that annoyed him for reasons he wasn’t really sure of, until he noticed who was standing behind him.

“Oh! Father, is there something wrong? Did the noise from the message bother you, because I could just close the door if you were working?”

“No need, Adrien, I have just come from the garden statue.. your friends truly seem to care for you. It seems that I may have.. _misjudged_ the sort of influence they will have had on you. I apologise for overhearing their messages, but it has given me an idea. Perhaps – and I won’t make a habit of this – you could invite them over to visit, as they so keen on being here for you.”

After going over his father’s words in his head – twice – Adrien had to focus on not having his jaw drop to the floor. It was.. exceptionally out of character for his father, and yet his expression held only sincerity.

“Thank you father! It would mean a lot to me if I could invite them over, and I promise to try and keep everything as quiet as possible if you decide to work on a project while they’re here.. I’m going to call Nino immediately, he’s dating Alya – you know the girl who runs the Ladyblog? – and if anyone would be able to spread the word quickly, it’s her.”

Seeing his father look at him with a rare smile, Adrien realised he still didn’t know why his father had come up to his room in the first place, and so he asked:

“Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but why did you come up here father? You almost never come up to my room if there isn’t something important happening,”

And for the second time today Adrien was shocked by his father as he adopted a facial expression somewhere between flustered and embarrassed before responding:

“Ah well.. I had thought that we could perhaps watch your mother’s film again, like we had last year.. form a new, uh, tradition as it were.”

Gabriel cleared his throat and folded his hands behind his back before continuing:

“It is of no consequence son, you should enjoy your day with your friends. I may be allowing them to visit today, but I won’t be turning our home into a place for your class to ‘hang out’ as it were”, and with that last instruction he turned and started to leave the room, leaving Adrien momentarily conflicted.

_What should I do? Father and I rarely get to do something fun together, and it would be paw-some if they could make it a tradition, but at the same time he knew his father wasn’t joking about his friends still not coming over very frequently. He may no longer actively dislike some of my friends, but he’s still a very private person.. I hate having to make impossible choices like this! It’s almost as bad as the.. Wait!_

“Excuse me, Father? I know you would have preferred us watching the film alone together and you hadn’t planned for my friends to stay the night.. but couldn’t I invite them over for a movie night? I know you wouldn’t want to stay around the whole time, but this way you and I could still watch it together?” Adrien waited with baited breath to see how his father would take this request, his expression as inscrutable as usual.

And then suddenly he was rewarded by a rare half smile from his father.

“I think that is an acceptable idea, son. Though I would advise you to warn your friends, so they do not feel as though I am merely there to watch over them. I shall go and inform the chef that we will be having guests, so remember to let him know how many will be able to make it as soon as they confirm their attendance.”

As soon as his father had left, Adrien was already typing out a message to Nino with invitation to a movie night as well as his request for Alya to spread the news to all of their friends. Completing it, he negligently tossed his phone onto his desk and flopped onto his bed with a satisfied smirk.

“Can you believe what just happened, Plagg? I actually feel as if I might be asleep..”

When nothing but silence greeted him, Adrien instinctively reached into his pocket for the lucky charm Marinette had given him – sure it was a bit superstitious - but he had learned that whenever Plagg got silent, he needed all his luck for whatever mischief his kwami had gotten into.

_Marinette.._

Adrien took out the charm and stared at it for a few moments, then looked over at his desk where he had tossed his phone before looking back at the charm.

_It’s not like I don’t have time to invite a few of my friends directly.. And Chloé will be expecting a personal call anyway. I’ll just call Marinette after._

*************************************************

Sitting at her desk in her room Marinette was finally managing to get control of her nerves, which had been a bit of a wreck ever since she had made the decision to finally confess her feelings to Adrien in the video message.. she would probably still be freaking out if she hadn’t decided to make some last minute improvements to the gift she was planning on giving him.

She was so engrossed with her work that when her phone rang she barely glanced at the screen before answering and switching to loud speaker so she had her hands free.

“Hey Alya! I’m sorry to be rude, but if you just want to talk could I call you back? I was still a bit nervous from earlier so I decided to try and make a few last second changes before I can go to deliver Adrien’s gift, and I kind of need both hands at the moment.. unless something important is up?”

Marinette frowned as there was only silence from the other end. Had Alya called by accident? That wasn’t like her, but accidents happen. She was just reaching over to end the call, eyes still not looking at the phone when a voice from the phone answered,

A voice that decidedly did _not_ belong to Alya.

“You.. you’re making me a gift? For today?”

Marinette would claim to her dying day that she _did not_ make the sound of a stepped on cat when she heard his voice.

“A-Adrien? Why are you with Aly.. oh! I’m sorry, I wasn’t really looking at my phone when I answered so I just assumed it was Alya, guess that just proves the saying that to assume makes an ass out of you and me – not that I think you’re an ass! It’s just something they say.. not about you! I meant it’s an expression.. –” her rambling was abruptly cut off as Adrien’s chuckling turned into full blown gales of laughter.

Marinette just sat listening to it, her embarrassment warring with her annoyance at starting to ramble when speaking to him.. she still liked him, but she was over the stuttering, damnit!

“Oh wow, I actually forgot how adorable you got when you went off on a tangent.. but back to what you were saying earlier, you made me a gift..?”

Marinette determinedly focused her thoughts _away_ from the fact that he had called her adorable, and thought about how to answer before shrugging, It wasn’t like she wasn’t planning on getting it to him today anyway.

“Umm yeah.. it’s not much, just something I made to show you I was thinking of you today, considering the whole thing with your mother.. Earlier today I had the idea of creating that video message we sent you, but I had already finished the gift so there was no reason not to give it to you too..”

“Oh that’s right! The video message, that was what I was calling about!”

Marinette’s heart stuttered once, twice and then finally started beating regularly again.

“..should have known it was your idea, you’re one of the most caring people I know. So you’ll never believe what happened just a while ago?”

*************************************************

“I don’t see why you’re so upset, Marinette. I thought you’d be happy that Adrien gets to have all his friends over, even if his dad is going to be there for some of it?”

“Oh no I am! But weren’t you listening when he explained? His dad walked in _just before_ he saw my part of the message, so the universe has conspired against me! The one time I get a confession out without stuttering or saying something embarrassing, and he _doesn’t see it._ ”

Marinette shook herself out of her stupor and smiled down at her kwami:

“But you’re right. It’s great that Adrien doesn’t have to spend the entire day alone again or try to sneak out.. and even his dad is going to be there! Adrien always looks so sad when his father cancels on him.. let’s hope tonight is different. I know Lila will be there too, but I’m just going to ignore her. That’s why I am heading over slightly early – to give Adrien his gift.. and to give one to Mr. Agreste.”

Tikki’s already large eyes widened comically further.

“You made a gift for Adrien’s father? Isn’t that a little..-“ Tikki started, before her questions were cut off by Marinette’s giggles.

“It isn’t something I made, just something.. well. You’ll find out when we get there.” Marinette finished with a small smile.

*************************************************

With a nervous glance at his father’s expression, Adrien went to open the door and see who came early.. his father was in a pretty mellow mood today, but he has always been a stickler for punctuality.

Still, his father didn’t appear to be annoyed, and so he opened the door expecting either Nino or Nathaniel – who he had learned lived nearer than his other classmates (barring Chloé, but he expected her to be ‘fashionably late’ as always).

So he was surprised to see Marinette at his door, looking nervous and with a faint blush on her cheeks. Stepping aside and inviting her in, he made sure to introduce her to his father who – surprising Adrien further – welcomed her into their home with no comment on her early arrival.

The fact that his father didn’t appear angry at her early arrival seemed to put much of her nervousness at ease, and she took a steadying breath before addressing them.

“I’m sorry for arriving early, especially as you are known for valuing punctuality, but I wanted to give the gifts I brought before the rest of our classmates arrive.”

Adrien saw his father raise an eyebrow at the implication that she brought them both gifts – a bit surprising to him as well, as he hadn’t heard anything of the sort from her.

She took out a small wrapped package and handed it to him with a smile and said: “I know it isn’t much, but it was just supposed to be something to show I was thinking of you.. Although I am a bit proud of it” she finished with a smirk.

One he had a sudden image of himself kissing..

_Whoa there Adrien. Marinette is your friend. Would you do that to Nino? No, so stop thinking about it!_

Blinking away his.. momentary distraction, Adrien held off on opening his gift to instead watch the scene between his father and Marinette. She seemed to be preparing for something internally, before squaring her shoulders and asking:

“Mr. Agreste, your company used to have charity contests for children, where they could send in drawings and the few winners would win some sort of prize – nothing extravagant, just something that would amuse children who liked fashion. I remember when we were seven or so, Chloé won a child-sized version of your best-selling dress from the previous season.. those stopped a while ago. Am I right in assuming it was your wife who organised and handled these events?”

His father’s always-collected façade faded to be replaced by honest bewilderment – which for him was a more emotive expression than Adrien’s own open-mouthed shock.

_Where on Earth is she going with this..? Maybe she wants to ask him to start the contests up again or.._

But his thoughts were interrupted as his father recovered his regular expression and spoke:

“Yes, that is correct. My wife loved people, and children especially. The contests were a project of hers that she spent many personal hours on. Why do you ask?”

Marinette reached into the backpack she had brought with her seemingly looking for something, finally taking out a worn but well cared for book before speaking again.

“When I was 8 years old, I won one of those contests. The prize was a book of advice and tips for people who are aiming for a career in the fashion industry from the young age – I believe it is a French translation of an Italian book. What made this gift so special was the multitude of handwritten notes and comments in the margin, which I had always assumed was in _your_ writing Mr. Agreste.”

Adrien could tell from the neutral expression on his father’s face that he did not write in the book, nor did he know who had, and was hoping Marinette would get to the point soon – another thing his father hated was small talk.

“Earlier this year Adrien gave me one of your old sketchbooks from when you where a student for my birthday..”

His father nodded; Adrien had told him why he wanted the sketchbook and for whom it was. Marinette gingerly held out the book to his father, and Adrien frowned. Does she want him to sign in? Marinette is usually observant enough about people to realise what a bad idea that would be, especially today of all days.

“The sketchbook had a lunch date written in on one of the pages, and I recognised the handwriting.. I was just thinking of a good time to give this to you. I believe the person who wrote all these notes was your wife, Mr. Agreste. I think it will mean a lot more to you.”

Adrien didn’t know what to think about this. He knew his father missed his mother terribly, just like he did, even if he wasn’t as prone to showing it.. but from the way he slowly took the book from Marinette and immediately opened it, only to start smiling a sad sort of smile he knew that the gift Marinette just gave his father meant more than he would be able to express..

“Miss Dupain-Cheng. Words cannot measure how much this gift means to me, but through my actions I can at least try. I assume as an aspiring designer, you always carry your sketchbook with you, yes? Good. Adrien still needs to greet his other guests, but until they all arrive it would be my pleasure to look them through with you and give advice where needed. We shall return shortly, Adrien.”

“Thank you Mr. Agreste, but I don’t want to be any trouble..” Marinette started, before being cut off.

“Nonsense, Miss Dupain-Cheng, I’ll be glad to. And please, call me Gabriel.”

So saying, his father led a somewhat-starstruck Marinette away to his office, leaving Adrien gaping like a fish and wondering of the camembert fumes had finally messed up his brain.

“You know, if Pigtails can make even your old man like her, I really think you should just admit your crush and move on from Ladybug” Plagg suddenly chimed in, causing Adrien to jump.

“Oh shut it Plagg, I’ve told you before I like Marinette a regular amount – not more, not less.”

“Yeah sure, and the Titanic had a small leak” Plagg quipped, before diving back into Adrien’s pocket as the doorbell rang again. Time to greet more guests.

*************************************************

Contrary to Adrien’s expectations, Chloé wasn’t the last person to arrive. No, instead it was a rather frazzled Alya, and bemused Nino. After a customary fist-bump from Nino and a hug hello from Alya, he quickly found out what had her so worked up.

“I’m sorry Adrien, I know you wanted me to let everybody know but I haven’t been able to reach Marinette! Earlier today it her number said line busy so I just waited, but no it seems to be switched off! I’m not sure if she knows about tonight..”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment before answering: “Yeah earlier today was probably my fault.. but don’t worry! I called and invited her myself.. in fact, she’s already here..-“

“She is? I haven’t seen her though, and I arrived just a few minutes after the first group according to Rose and Juleka. Maybe she left?” Lila interrupted, faux innocently.

As if the universe was playing with probability, Marinette and his dad chose that exact moment to leave the office, still absorbed in their conversation.

“..understand you’ll need to speak to your parents Miss Dupain-Cheng, but the offer is sincere. You can reach me through Adrien when you’ve made a decision.”

“Thank you so much Gabriel! I’ll speak to them the moment I get back.”

Everyone else present, already staring wide-eyed, now openly gaped at the casual way Marinette addressed one of the most intimidating adults any of them had ever met.

While the stunned faces of everyone amused Adrien greatly, he decided they should probably not hang around in his foyer all night.

“Okay everyone, why don’t we move to the living area and start the movie – afterwards we can have dinner and then decide what to do from there on, that fine with everyone else?”

As everyone nodded their assent and took various seats around the room – with the couples of Alya and Nino, Ivan and Mylene and Rose and Juleka each claiming a two seater couch – Adrien took the seat on his father’s right side with Marinette sitting on his left.

Lila looked ticked off that she couldn’t get a seat nearer to him, but finally everyone got comfortable and the movie started.

*************************************************

Marinette was sitting with Nathaniel and grinding her teeth in frustration. They had been discussing how using monochrome colouring was used in various art forms such as painting, sketching and movies when she overheard Lila running her mouth again.

Everybody had split into smaller groups with most of the guys playing on Adrien’s game console (although Kim and Alex were having a contest to see who could eat the most chilli peppers – not that she had a clue where they had got them from), Adrien going to his room to show Chloé and his father the gift she had made him (she had described it to Gabriel earlier, but he wanted to see it himself) and the other girls were sitting in a circle with Lila, eating some snacks.

Still, she wasn’t going to make a scene. She had seen how much the movie meant to both the remaining Agrestes – she would simply ignore the lies Lila was telli..

“I know the actress pretty well of course, but I’m not surprised none of you have heard of her before,” lowering her voice conspiratorially as if she was preparing to share a secret, “I had to help her through some tough personal issues.. her husband was a very cold and unloving man, which in turn made her son turn to drugs..”

“No!” gasped several of the nearby girls, while Lila nodded solemnly.

“It’s sad, but true.. she even told me if it wasn’t for my unwavering support she would have considered suicide.”

And then Marinette snapped.

*************************************************

The scene Chloé, Adrien and Gabriel walked into was vastly different from the one they had left.

“..foul, loathsome, despicable excuse for a human being! How dare you!? Lying for attention or to get me into trouble, but this! Not today Lila, now TAKE. IT. BACK!”

All three of them blinked twice to make sure they weren’t hallucinating. Lila huddled with Alya, Alix and Mylene with Rose and Juleka to one side; Both Ivan and Kim seemingly holding Marinette back from physically assaulting Lila while the other guys stand staring in open-mouthed shock at their usually gentle classmate.

The shock was broken by Adrien’s father calling out:

“Miss Dupain-Cheng! What is the meaning of this?”

“She.. she.. she..” Marinette couldn’t seem to get a sentence out – but rather than due to nervousness, it was due to _fury_ at the other girl.

“I’m sorry Mr. Agreste, Marinette has some jealousy issues and when Lila told us about how she knew the actress from tonight’s movie she just lost it” Alya of all people said. She had to applaud the kind of loyalty Marinette’s friends had – why with friends like those, who needs enemi.. then she noticed how both Agrestes stiffened, and it sunk in what Lila had been claiming.

Chloé narrowed her eyes and walked over to Lila.. she didn’t think anyone but Sabrina and surprisingly Juleka noticed that she was now raving mad as well.

“Oh Chloé it was horrible! I was talking about how my friend was stuck in a loveless marriage with an ungrateful son, and all of a sudden Marinette tried to attack me!” Lila managed to wail out, with impressive tear work. Chloé just stood there silently before looking at Marinette. They made eye-contact and in that moment she knew that while the two of them might never be friends, they both did care for Adrien. She nodded at Marinette, who suddenly relaxed her tense posture but still glared at Lila and then spun around and delivered the biggest slap she had ever given to Lila’s smug face, knocking her to the floor with the force of it.

Everyone was stunned into silence and inaction. All, except Marinette who had walked over to stand next to Chloé before kneeling down and speaking to Lila so softly that nobody but the three of them were likely to hear.

“You know what Lila? I don’t care anymore. Lie to make yourself popular, or get attention, or even to turn all my friends against me..” and Chloé was happy to see the nervousness on Lila’s face, as Marinette stood up and spoke loud enough for the rest to hear, “but don’t you ever lie about Adrien’s mother again, or I will put you so far down in the ground the catacombs will seem like a penthouse suite!”

The class still looked confused, until the voice of Gabriel Agreste came out colder than ice and sharper than glass:

“Miss Rossi. I have invited you into my home for the night, and so will not throw you out.. but for these despicable lies you’ve told about my wife and family, you will be escorted out first thing in the morning and if I should ever find you within a 100 feet of any Agreste event or property I will have you blacklisted from every industry in which I have reach!”

That finally seemed to do it for the uncultured masses, and they swarmed over to Marinette to apologize and beg her forgiveness for trusting Lila over her..

“Sabrina, get me a towel or something so I can wipe off whatever infection I got on my hand from touching the liar,” Chloé said, walking over to where Adrien and his father were standing.

*************************************************

Adrien stood next to his father, both of them just taking a moment to calm down. People never realised because Adrien was so hard to rile up, but he and his father had the same sort of temper – that burning cold rage that manifested itself in sudden cutting bursts. Glancing at his father, he noticed him staring at Marinette with a strangely calculating look on his face, surprisingly less angry than he had expected him to be.

His father’s next words caught him even more off guard:

“Tell me Adrien, what are your feelings towards young Marinette over there?”

“I.. she’s just.. a friend…?” but even to Adrien’s own ears it sounded more like a question.

His father merely hummed before speaking further:

“Son, I’d advise you to make a decision soon, because you might not have a choice later,” and seeing the panicked expression on his face, his father actually chuckled before turning away.

“Move quickly son, I have decided that that girl needs to join this family – so you either start dating her, or I will adopt her!” his father finished, still chuckling as he walked to his office.

Adrien just stood there dumbstruck at the images of dating Marinette through the years..

Dating through school.

Dating while getting their degrees.

Finally getting engaged, Marinette starting her own boutique.

Marriage. His father mentoring Marinette in the design aspect of the company, him in the business end.

His father retiring, them taking over the company. Kids..

And Adrien suddenly knew. He wanted this future. He wanted a future with _her._

So, before he had a moment to consider nerves or whether it was smart or how everyone might react, he marched over to Marinette and took her in his arms, looking her in the eyes and seeing what he thought was confusion, nervousness as well as – he hoped – excited acceptance.

Adrien kissed her. She froze for a split second before throwing her arms around him and kissing him back with the same enthusiasm.

Life was going to be great.

*************************************************

Chat Noir paced up and down the Eifel Tower landing he and Ladybug were going to be meeting at. He was nervous – he had something to discuss with his partner, and he was pretty sure it was going to lead to a fight.. but he had made a decision and he was going to have to convince her of it. He loved Marinette. Since they had started dating, his feelings had grown at an almost frightening pace, culminating in today where they had both told each other they loved one another.

So he wanted to tell her his identity.

No, he needed to tell her. Warn her, so that she would be extra careful.. because if Hawk Moth used her against him, he didn’t know what he would do. When she had finally arrived, Chat wasted no time in starting.

“My Lady, I have to ask you something, and I know it’s probably going to make you angry.. but just hear me out okay? Until the end. Then we can talk about it, alright?”

Ladybug’s smile faded to be replaced by a more wary look, but she put on a determined smile and nodded at him.

“Ladybug.. I know you don’t want us to reveal our identities, and I finally understand why.. but. I told my girlfriend I loved her today, and I meant it. So, I want to tell her about my secret identity.. In fact, she _needs_ to know! To be safe! Because if Hawk Moth manages to use her against me.. I don’t know if I could stand against her. She means so much to me.. but you can trust her! In fact, you know you can, you even gave her the Mouse Miraculous a while ago,” and if Chat noticed the sudden intake of breath Ladybug took, or her surprised look, he just played it off as surprise at his request.

He stood there, watching her watch him with this intense look in her eyes, seeing the conflicting emotions flit across her face..

And suddenly _flash!_

His transformation dropped, and suddenly Adrien Agreste stood before Ladybug, and Ladybug.. honestly looked more surprised at his kwami than at him which was – frankly – a bit surprising.

“Oh enough of this already! You love each other, I get it. Adrien, Marinette. Marinette, Adrien. Marinette, Chat Noir. Chat Noir, Marinette. Yada yada yada. Introductions done, the guardian can blame the identity thing on me, and you two can go make out like the hormonal teenagers you are! So Bug, mind detransforming so I can see Sugarcube?”

And then Adrien was left staring at his _no longer transformed_ girlfriend, who was looking just as shocked and excited as he was.. and then he had her in his arms, spinning her around as she squealed in happiness and he grinned like a lunatic.

He opened his mouth to say something hopefully romantic enough to capture the moment, only to be interrupted by the world’s most obnoxious Kwami (or so he hoped):

“So kid, before you two start that gross human tongue-wrestling thing, mind giving me my cheese?”

“Plagg!” three indignant voices called into the night.


	2. Robot Eyes & Heroes In Disguise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to have to turn on comment moderation - apologies, but last chapter had 38 comments and only ten were unrelated to the Lila commenter. Big thanks to those 10.
> 
> Also to clarify, Kerchak Greystoke is my name for Adrien's bodyguard - who gets the reference?
> 
> Also this chapter is filled with references and inspirations from other media.. who will take a guess about which parts and from where?

Juleka sat as far back in her chair as she could, doing her best to keep out of the total bedlam that was going on in class. The morning had started normal enough, with Madame Bustier saying she would be handing back last week’s test but then taking on a serious expression and calling forth Marinette.

She had been happy for Marinette when Madame Bustier had informed her that she had received full marks..

And then the accusation of stealing answers and cheating.

The class had been mostly in support of the fact that Marinette hadn’t done it, even if almost nobody had believed her when she blamed Lila – not even Alya, her best friend.. though Juleka had noticed the look Chloé and Sabrina had shared and the quick glare Adrien had shot Lila – surprising, since she didn’t even know Adrien _could_ glare.

Then Principal Damocles had called in Madame Bustier to his office with the news that Marinette had apparently _pushed_ Lila down the stairs, and as soon as she had left the classroom the shouting had begun.

Alya was actually the one who started it, if indirectly. She had said that she knew that Marinette could be jealous and narrow-minded when it came to Lila, but she never expected things to get this bad..

Which had triggered an angry retort by Adrien about Alya being a terrible friend, getting Nino involved defending his girlfriend – which made Chloé snort derisively that they were both gullible pushovers.

Juleka really hated conflict, and yet now it seemed the whole class was devolving into an argument about who believed Marinette did it and who didn’t. Even Sabrina and Mylene were involved, though it seemed they were having a more civilised discussion at the front of the class rather than being in a heated argument. Everyone else though.. it was like a civil war.

*************************************************

“You’re not giving her enough credit Nate! You don’t realise how crazy the girl’s plans get sometimes, it’s scary! She can get real cold-logic when she needs to, if she snapped she _could_ have pushed Lila down the stairs,” Alix argued to Nathaniel.

“I don’t care if you think Marinette could be cold enough to do it, Alix! It doesn’t matter that she could do it, she _wouldn’t_ push someone down the stairs!” Nathaniel shouted back at Alix.

“You’re just not thinking clearly because you used to have a crush on her.. I’m not saying she’s a bad person, just that her jealousy got the better of her!” countered Alix.

“Come off it, that has nothing to do with it! Why would Marinette be jealous? Over her crush..? Have you seen the look of distaste on his face whenever Lila comes near, he likes her about as much you like losing!” retorted Nathaniel.

“Jealousy isn’t rational, Nathaniel! Besides, what about everything else Lila has done that no one else in the class has?”

Nathaniel snorted.

“I doubted at least half of those stories, and I’m taking today as proof that they were all lies and that everything Marinette accused Lila of was probably true.”

And so on it went.

*************************************************

“Look dude, I know you’re not the best at social cues, but you can’t just be calling out my girlfriend as a bad friend for no reason! She’s Marinette’s best friend and.._”

Nino was cut off by Chloé’s angry scoff.

“Excuse you, who the hell are you to badmouth Adrien? Shouldn’t you doublecheck your opinion with Césaire.. although she probably doesn’t have time for that with all the ‘ _research’_ she does for her Ladyblog,” managing to put as much disdain as possible into the word research.

Alya, who had until that point been scowling at Adrien, now whirled on Chloé and demanded:

“And what’s that supposed to mean? I get most of my footage myself _and_ I’ve done the most interviews with Ladybug and Chat Noir of any other reporter!”

This actually caused Adrien to smirk.. and not his usual playful, happy smirk. But something different, _sharper_ , something that made you realise that while Adrien was a better person than most, he could be just as cold and cutting as his father or Chloé – whom people often forget was his childhood friend.

“Ah that’s true, but it has been a while since they gave you an interview hasn’t it..? Not since the interview you posted about her quote unquote ‘best friend’ Lila, I think. Funny coincidence, don’t you think Chlo?”

This actually caught the immediate group off guard and Alya frowned as she thought back to it.. evidently less willing to believe it than Chloé, whose eyes suddenly widened in a Eureka moment.

“That’s right! Ha! You had the heroes of Paris’s ear and favour for your website, and then you post some liar’s interview and lose it! That’s just perfect..” Chloé said, before turning to Adrien with a raised eyebrow and saying: “although it does make me wonder about how much time you’ve been spending looking up Ladybug and Chat Noir, Adrikins. Maybe tone it down a bit, huh?”

The four teens glared at each other for a moment longer, before separating to different parts of the class. This divide was making people lose their tempers, but the threat of Hawk Moth and his akumas were enough to force everyone not to lose too much control..

If only they realised that none of them were in danger of being akumatised.. no, Hawk Moth had his eyes on a much more interesting target.

*************************************************

“Marinette would never do this,” protested Kim, “We’ve known each other since we were kids, and no way would she do something as underhanded as push someone down a flight of stairs!”

“Look, I’m not saying she did it – all I’m saying is that she has been acting irrational when it comes to Lila, and you can’t _know_ she is innocent until we have all the relevant data and facts,” Max stated, still trying to keep calm.

“You don’t get it Max,” Kim stated with the tone of one explaining something simple to a child, “Marinette is _hardcore._ Working in the bakery has her pretty strong, and have you seen her dad? If Marinette wanted to assault Lila, she would walk right up to her face and punch her out like a real man!”

Max spluttered in indignation before answering in a disbelieving tone:

“Are you implying that your entire assertion of Marinette’s innocence isn’t based on her _not_ assaulting someone, but on the method she would use while doing so? That’s completely illogical!”

Kim closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration before suddenly exclaiming:

“Ah! I think I know how to explain it now. See, pushing someone down the stairs is a Rogue move – and while Marinette could be a Rogue – she’s too much of a hero to do something like it,” Kim finished, looking quite proud of his comparison.

..until Max yelled:

“That’s just absurd!”

*************************************************

Ivan sat frowning next to Mylene, listening to her and Sabrina talk about everything with Marinette and Lila – and wasn’t that surprisingly to learn after he and Mylene had started dating. She and Sabrina actually got along surprisingly well – as long as Chloé wasn’t around that is.

From the few times he had hung out with Sabrina when she and Mylene got together he had started to get a better picture of both Chloé and Sabrina and how their friendship worked. A strange combination of Chloé being an extremely generous, extremely _rich_ friend to the few people she liked, and Sabrina hating the feeling of taking charity or being in debt to anyone. It made their friendship seem very one-sided, but it worked for them.. even if he found it strange.

In fact, it was the reason he had decided to pursue a degree in psychology when he finished school – there were so many interesting aspects of people’s personality and he was intrigued by how they interacted..

And yet, take today. Their entire class seems to be choosing sides in this.. thing.. between Marinette and Lila. Most of the class seemed to be leaning towards Lila being right, and while Ivan wouldn’t believe Marinette stole test answers and cheated to get a perfect score in Madame Bustier’s class.. He wasn’t sure he knew Marinette well enough to believe she wouldn’t have a fit of temper. He _was_ sure it wouldn’t have been a thought out move, but what he had heard from Mylene, Marinette’s crush on Adrien seemed to be just a bit closer to obsession than was healthy. And he knew better than most how easily how someone’s temper can get the best of them.. and jealousy was something that easily ignited tempers.

*************************************************

Marinette felt miserable. The day had started off great – she had got up early for once and had coincidentally run into Adrien at the bakery. She knew Kerchak often stopped by the bakery after dropping Adrien off for school as he and her father after he and her dad had started off a pretty decent friendship (Her mother claimed the first time they had met they only glared at each other for a second, before trying to crush the other’s hand in a handshake and then suddenly acted like the best of friends).

Today though, for some reason or another, he had stopped by _before_ dropping Adrien off and so she had had a chance to hang out with him alone while Kerchak and her dad finished speaking. They even walked to school together after Adrien told his driver bakery was close enough to the school to just walk over rather than drive.

Their conversations were much better now that she had learned not to be so nervous around him – while she still embarrassed pretty easily and had a tendency to ramble, there was almost never a stutter unless he surprised her.

So of course, Lila had to ruin the day by framing her for cheating on the test which was bad enough but at least her friends believed she wouldn’t cheat on the test.. even if no one believed her when she said Lila was responsible.

She had underestimated Lila – she knew Lila was a bully and a liar, but to actually try and frame her for assault was something she’d never have considered.. and now she was going to use this opportunity to turn even more of her friends against her.

_I thought I had her when I convinced the principle they couldn’t expel me if it was a case of my word against hers, but that only played into her plans. It sounded innocent enough when she asked Principle Damocles to ask the class for character statements, which is probably why he agreed.. but I just know she’ll find a way to twist this to her advantage._

As she trudged along beside Madame Bustier while Principle Damocles lead the way with Lila leaning heavily on his arm for ‘support’, she let out a tired sigh – because that’s what she was. _Tired._

Tired of defending herself, tired of trying to protect her friends from lies they refused to acknowledge, tired of fighting a hopelessly uphill battle.

It had started in the back of her mind, just a niggling afterthought, there one moment and gone the next. Yet with Lila spreading more and more lies, and her friends trusting her a little less everyday.. she had considered just giving in. She had more important things to worry about with her job as Ladybug and it wouldn’t be the first time she had gone without close friends – she may be a friendly person at heart, but she liked solitude and could easily get lost in her own world.

Honestly the only reasons she hadn’t just decided to say ‘Screw it’ were Adrien, Tikki and her natural competitiveness. She did not want Lila to win.. sighing again, she decided to wait until the day was over before she made her decision.

Seeing they had arrived at the classroom, she squared her shoulders and got enough control of her emotions that her misery wouldn’t be apparent in her expression, and marched into the room..

..only to come to an open-mouthed stop at the chaos the class had fallen into. A quick look showed even Lila surprised by this, meaning it likely wasn’t something she had caused on purpose.

Everyone seemed to be arguing with everyone – even the usually soft-spoken Nathaniel and gentle Mylene.

“Silence! What is the meaning of this? This is a classroom and you will behave.. All of you separate this instant!” Principle Damocles almost roared when he recovered from what they had walked into.

And Marinette felt her heart break just a little. The class had seemed to split into two groups, and it wasn’t hard to figure out that one group believed her, and the other.. well. She could understand how it might divide people, but she knew Adrien knew the truth about Lila and so would be on her side.

She almost couldn’t believe it, but it seemed so were Chloé and Sabrina – although she supposed her and Chloé had been.. not friends, but good acquaintances ever since she had been Queen Bee and tried to turn her life around. Nathaniel was a surprise, but one she was glad for and Kim had known her longer than anyone so she guessed that made sense.. Juleka just seemed to be avoiding the whole situation at least.

Seeing Alya and Nino didn’t believe her though? Or rather, believed that she was capable of this – that hurt a lot more.

And when she and Alya made eye-contact, it felt as if an eternity passed in a moment.. and when Alya looked away, Marinette knew something irreparable had just broken in their friendship.

*************************************************

Adrien was angrier than he remembered ever being before. He generally kept a tight leash on his temper, as he’d seen how people reacted to his father’s cold-as-ice remarks or Chloé’s cutting rejoinders, and while his father was.. well, his father, and Chloé was his oldest friend – he didn’t want to be like them.

Now though.

It felt like every cliché description of someone wrathful fit him like a glove – he saw red, he wasn’t rational, his arguments were not only intended to defend Marinette, but to _hurt_ those she needed defending from. He wanted to toss Lila out of a very high window, or transform into Chat Noir and give her an actual injury to complain about..

It was bad. Plagg had warned him that he and Ladybug were reaching a point where their use of the miraculous would leave an imprint on him – he would become more territorial, protective.. and when he had asked Plagg if that meant he would become more violent or ‘darker’ – for lack of a better term – Plagg had said that there were multiple reasons the Black Cat and Ladybug were always brought out together. One of them? Because only the Ladybug would be able to stop the Black Cat, and the Black Cat was dangerous.

He hadn’t been sure that he understood all of what Plagg was getting at.. but considering his sudden and irrational urge to just lock Marinette up in some fortified tower where nobody would be able to hurt her ever again.

He had long ago realised his mistake in advising Marinette to take the high-road when it came to Lila, but by the time he had realised it, it was too late. Lila was entrenched with their friends, and Marinette was already being looked at with a bit more distance, a bit more suspicion. And when he went to Marinette to ask inform her he would be telling the class the truth, that he would be supporting Marinette’s claims of Lila’s deceit..

She had asked him not to.

Because Lila might make the class start to turn against him too, and she knew how much making new friends when he came to school meant to him.

And her problems weren’t so bad that she’d ask him to make trouble with their friends..

He would have told her no, would have rejected her plea.. but she had turned those brilliant blue eyes on him and smiled that smile that was more of a pouting plea and he had.. well he wasn’t sure, but the next moment he was consciously aware of was getting into bed.

He had lost almost 7 hours of his day to that look. He would have started a petition to get it banned..

..if he wasn’t secretly hoping to see it again.

_No! Bad Adrien! Ladybug is a friend, you’re in love with Marinette so stop thinking about her this way! Damnit, I meant that the other.. way. Or did I? I’ve been in love with Ladybug for almost 3 years now, but she’s been in love with someone else since before I met her.. She’s never said for how long she loved him before we met, but is it really fair to expect that her emotions would change but mine can’t?_

Adrien felt his eyes go wide. He was in love with Marinette, wasn’t he?

He was snapped out of his internal musings by an elbow from Chloé who was sitting next to him. She nodded her head at Principle Damocles, and he saw what she was pointing out – it seemed he had come to a decision.

“This is a most unusual situation. We have a case of two students accusing each other, with only their own words as evidence. Furthermore, my attempt to resolve this by seeking character statements from their classmates have simply resulted in conflicting opinions and further accusations,” he paused here, and seemed to take a steadying breath before frowning and continuing: “It might be expected to get the police involved in a case as serious as this, but the injured party had stated her willingness to waive charges _if_ Miss Dupain-Cheng was expelled. That said, I have decided on a temporary expulsion as there is no precise way of determining who has lied..”

He was interrupted, however, by Max’s bag seemingly achieving lift off.. or so it appeared, until Markov exited and flew to Max. Principle Damocles had developed a surprising level of respect for the robot after his Robustus akumatisation and seemed curious to what Markov had to say.

“That is not 100% correct. I was not present for the altercation between Marinette and Lila, but am always obtaining data from those around me – including those two. With additional specifications of degrees and categories, I can look into both Marinette and Lila’s previous lies to determine the probability of them lying. Would this not be an acceptable alternative?”

Adrien couldn’t help but grin – Marinette was one of the most honest people he knew, and he could tell from Lila’s expression she didn’t think Markov would make any difference.

Madame Bustier and Principle Damocles seemed to discuss it for a few minutes, before turning to Markov and agreeing to his assistance.

“I will first calculate all lies.. Taking both their histories into account the probability of either telling a lie throughout the day is…” and Adrien could tell by Markov’s eyes (screens?) that he was running calculations, “is 91% for Lila Rossi and 87% for Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Adrien’s grin faded.. that.. was not what he expected. And from the look on everyone’s faces, it wasn’t what they had expected either – though whose percentage they found most surprising was hard to determine.

Principle Damocles blinked a few times in surprise before sighing in defeat and turning to Marinette saying:

“Miss Dupain-Cheng, I am sorry but 4% is hardly enough of a difference to take you at your word. You will not be expelled.. but it saddens me to say that you can no longer be the class president after suspension and we must also call in your parents for..”

Adrien was clenching his jaw and outright glaring at Lila. She was looking so damn smug, it made him sick. When she looked over at him and saw his expression she visibly flinched before trying to school her expression into on of tearful regret. Her duplicity sickened him.. even if he took too much pleasure in that moment of fear.

“Pardon me, but I believe you should allow me to adjust Marinette’s probability of lying, by taking into consideration the special circumstances of the secret she desires to keep,” Markov spoke up while the principle was still talking to Marinette.

This statement was met by a blanket of shock and silence from everyone in the class.. except the look of panic that Marinette wore.

Damocles stared sternly at Markov before speaking:

“You claim that Miss Dupain-Cheng has a secret she frequently lies to keep? It can’t be that important if you know it, as you must have overheard her telling someone.. Why should this secret gain her some level of exception?”

“That assumption is incorrect. I have not overheard this secret, it is something I deduced myself. Furthermore, I have deduced that no one with any immediate connection to Marinette is aware of this secret.”

_What on Earth..? What kind of secret could Marinette possibly have that is this important? And why is she looking more and more panicked..?_

“You believe this secret to be important? Would you be willing to take myself or Madame Bustier into confidence, allowing us to determine if it should be granted an exception?” Principle Damocles said, still trying to make sense of this development while the rest of the class sat in confused silence.

Markov seemed to send a reassuring glance towards Marinette before answering.

“Negative. Point of fact, I have determined this secret to be of the highest importance and therefore programmed a fail-safe into my system. Should anyone attempt to extract this knowledge from my databanks, I will immediately format all information as well as backups of myself..”

This statement was interrupted by a shocked exclamation from Max:

“But Markov! Those include all your personality and memory files! Everything that makes you, you! Please, you must allow me to remove that fail-safe.”

Markov spun in a few half circles, doing a fair approximation of a full-body head shake.

“Negative. I have calculated the importance of Marinette’s secret to be above the cost of my own termination, and so will activate the fail safe should you attempt it’s removal,”

Adrien stared in open mouthed shock, while the class suddenly devolved into frantic whispers and mumbling.. the shocks weren’t over, however as Markov continued:

“Indeed, by my estimate if all in this class were to become aware of Marinette’s secret.. there is an 65-100% chance, depending on individual, that all of you – excepting Lila Rossi – would self-terminate if it managed to protect her secret,” he finished, seemingly unaware of the effect his words had on those who heard it.

The entire class had gone deathly silent – quiet enough that you could hear a ladybug stub her toe.. and everyone was staring either shocked or fearfully at Marinette, who looked to be barely holding it together.

“I therefore give my adjusted probability for Marinette at 14% - and feel obliged to mention that the average ‘honest’ person has a probability of 27%. My conclusion is, of course, that Marinette is innocent and being framed by Lila Rossi for some unknown reason – I predict jealousy or latent reaction formation based on suppressed attraction.”

The silence stretched for a minute, two minutes, 3 minutes.. and suddenly Marinette was running out of the class.

If the arguments from earlier were bad, it was nothing compared to the emotional turmoil and aggression and guilt that exploded when everyone finally processed that not only had Lila been lying, she had been _successfully_ turning them against Marinette.

Even Chloé had gotten up to get her piece of Lila.. while Adrien was still processing. And thinking harder than he had ever thought before.. he didn’t know Marinette’s secret, but he did know there was one secret he would not hesitate to die to protect. One person he frequently jumped in front of danger for..

He needed to speak to Markov. _Now._

Seeing as everyone was distracted, he quickly leaped over to where Markov was still floating.

“Hey Markov, I know you won’t reveal the secret.. but you said the probabilities ranged between 65-100.. I just need to know, was there only one 100% certainty, and was it me?” Adrien knew how desperate he sounded, but he needed to know the answer.

Markov just looked at him for a long moment, before moving his head in a single gesture.

*************************************************

Adrien was running like a madman, now even having reached the roof of the school with Plagg floating along beside him. He had started urgently searching the moment he confirmed Marinette was his Lady, but then he had suddenly been struck by a thought – There had been no akumas. The entire day has been one long emotional mess, but there were no akumas.. like he had been saving them for someone specific. Someone like Marinette. And he _swore_ to himself that would not happen.

His enhanced hearing finally picked up a soft voice in a hidden alley behind the school, and when he looked down he almost broke seeing the akuma only a inch away from touching Marinette – he delved deeper into his stamina reserves than he thought possible and made ready to jump off the building at the akuma, super suit or not..

Only to stop in surprise as she reached out her hand with one finger extended, allowing the akuma to land on it. When she brought it closer to her face he strained to hear while still sneaking down the building and up behind her, to be even more shocked to hear her speaking gently to it.

“I’m sorry little butterfly, I can feel how it hurts to have your purpose twisted into this.. but I promise you we will find and stop him. I’m just an average girl, but I’ll never give up and my partner.. well, he’s the epitome of a hero. Maybe a little bit of a show off, but here’s something I’ve never told him – I think it’s kind of cute.. but that’s enough about me, it’s time for you to de-evilize.”

And to Adrien’s surprise she didn’t transform, but merely kissed the top of it’s wings – yet still purifying it, and allowing it to fly away.

He was now close enough to touch her, and she still hadn’t noticed him.. until his hand came around his head, and he covered her eyes.

She stiffened and remained deathly still for the few seconds he had to gather his courage to speak.

“I’ve finally found you, My Lady..”

Marinette gasped, but leaned back towards him before speaking in a nervous tremble:

“Kitty.. is that you? How are you here..? You weren’t supposed to find out about me being ‘just Marinette’!”

Adrien took the opportunity to take his hand from her eyes and hug her close against him. Feeling her hands rest on his arms, he realised she still wasn’t ready to face him but was intimately aware of his untransformed state.

“Maribug, you’ve never been _just_ anything! Don’t you get it? I’ve seen the truth of you, both halves, and I’m absolutely dazzled by it. You.. I’d do anything for you – crush mountains, tame seas! I’m so in love with you it terrifies me to my bones.. I want you to look at me, Marinette, and if you don’t feel the same I can live with that. I’ll be your best friend, your guardian and partner – whatever you need.. but if you do, show me and we’ll face anything and everything together.”

Her heartbeat had become erratic as she listened to his words, just like his.. and there was a moment of complete fear and anxiety and excitement as she started to turn around – the feeling of free-falling into an abyss..

And then her eyes found his and her expression turned to one of such pure joy that he couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out from his throat as he picked her up and twirled her around..

And when he finally put her down, those eyes stared into his with so much love his breath caught, and when they finally kissed he lost a lot more time than a mere 7 hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, there it is. Please comment and review!
> 
> The part about Ivan and psychology is a reference to DarkReyna's older fanfic Back To Us - first fanfiction I ever wrote! Great read, wish she had more stories.
> 
> The part about Lila's reasoning for targeting Marinette (not the jealousy, the other one) is not meant to insult anyone nor is it my opinion. Was simply inspired by the song "I get a little Ghengis Khan" by Mike Snow - though you'd need to watch the official music video to understand. Everyone being a little in love with Marinette is a personal head canon - might write the story in the future, might not.
> 
> Lastly the third chapter of this should be coming up in the next two days and features the 'Uncle Jagged' head canon, which I also adore!


	3. Love Shall Rise At The Fall Of Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not really sure how all these couples snuck in, but whatever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might return to this series of Lila-burns in the future, but for now these three are it. Also, this is majorly ChloNath now.

Nathaniel was once again thankful for his ability to just fade into the background and remain unnoticed. It probably wasn’t something to be proud of – and indeed, he had hated his inability to stand out for the longest time. Just because he didn’t like being the centre of attention didn’t mean he liked being forgotten, you know?

Then something silly happened – he watched an anime about a loner who claimed that unobtrusively disappearing into his surroundings was one of his 108 special skills. It was something silly but had for some reason stuck with him enough that he found he didn’t mind as much anymore.. in fact, sometimes it was downright useful. Like when you want to secretly observe a girl who might or might not rip you into pieces, both verbally and physically, if she thought you were staring too much.

Chloé Bourgeois.

She was.. an enigma. A few months ago he would have used a much more unkind word to describe her, but she had been trying to be better – he could respect someone trying to improve themselves. She had started apologising to everyone she had ridiculed or put down with _unnecessary cause_. Which included a lot more people than he would have expected – their entire class, for one.

Still, her apologies largely consisted of gifts and so most of the class wrote it off as bribery and assumed her only input into the gifts were the money she gave Sabrina to buy them. Everyone he had talked to said while they wouldn’t be bribed, but saw the attempt at apologising as close to being good as she could come – and most had also picked up that she hadn’t bothered to apologise to Marinette, who probably deserved one the most.

To be honest, he wouldn’t have really disagreed with them..

If it wasn’t for the fact that he had spotted Chloé buying his gift – okay so that was a bit thin. She might deign to buy her own bribes.. Thing was, the store he spotted her in was by no means high end. It was in a more run down part of town, small and easy to miss if you didn’t already know where it was.. but it carried some of the best paints and other art supplies he had ever found in the city.

Long story short, she really had no business shopping there, unless she had wondered in by accident. Nathaniel himself didn’t even shop there (though that was due to the prices), he just like browsing through it.

Then he received his apology and gift from Chloé – the exact painting set he had been looking at when he had spotted her the previous day. He would have wrote it off, except for a throwaway comment by Nino about how the headset he had got was the exact one he had asked about the previous week.. one intuitive leap later, and Nathaniel had a theory.

_She had been following everyone._

It seemed.. out of character. Except the more he thought of it, the more he became sure that none of the class likely knew anything about her true character – which is why he had gone to speak to Adrien so he could ask about his suspicions.

*************************************************

“Would Chloé sneak around, following people in some strange over the top plan to find out what kind of gift they would most likely prefer?” Adrien asked in a neutral tone.

“Okay, I realise when you phrase it like that it sounds..-”

“That is absolutely something she would do, in fact, I’d guess that is exactly what she had been doing. So I guess you spotted her, huh?”

His surprise must have been clear on his face, because Adrien laughed out loud, before calming down with a fond expression on his face.

“Look, I get that most people don’t like Chloé – with reason, I know. She can be cold and rude, and she’s brutally honest in her opinions of people.. She didn’t have the most caring parents. Her mother is in my opinion.. well, a frigid bitch. Her father really does love her, but he also loves his job and the power he wields as mayor. Her mother rarely has time for her, and whenever she does it’s to either belittle or critique her. I’ve always felt that was why Chloé can act so cruel – that she hoped mimicking her mother would gain her some form of approval.

Her father has more time for her, but is more likely to just buy her expensive gifts than actually show he loves her. It has created the idea in Chloé’s mind that emotion can only be expressed as either criticism or expensive gifts. Take my word for it – this really is the best way she knows to show she’s sorry. Accept the gift as the apology it is, rather than the bribe it comes across, okay?”

Nathaniel just looked at Adrien. That.. was a lot to take in. Actually it was a lot more insight into Chloé than he had expected.. it was actually surprising Adrien would share this much with someone who isn’t that close to either him or Chloé.

“Why are you telling me all of this?” he finally asked.

Adrien looked at him with his head tilted to the side and his eyes slightly narrowed – for some reason the action struck him as extremely feline in nature.

“I wouldn’t have just told anyone – the reason I told you is likely the same reason you had for being the first person to ask about how Chloé thinks.. or at least I hope so for her part..” he finished in a mutter – softly enough that Nathaniel almost hadn’t heard it.

Nathaniel pursed his lips and frowned in confusion. Why was he asking? Does it really matter to him, considering that he wasn’t exactly on close terms with her? He didn’t know.. and yet this new knowledge sat in the back of his head as unmovable as a sleeping Snorlax.

Thanking Adrien, he turned and walked to the school’s exit – only for Adrien to call out:

“And Nathaniel? I’m pretty sure you’re a good guy, but know that if you use any of what I told you to gossip or hurt her.. Well. Trust me when I say the Agreste temper is far worse than that of the Bourgeois..” and seeing the unusually serious expression on Adrien’s face he realised something – Chloé may not have many friends, but her friendship with Adrien was real and he would always look out for her.

For some reason he couldn’t fathom that thought made him surprisingly happy.

*************************************************

He was shaken out of his memories and stopped sketching when he realised he was no longer sitting alone on the courtyard steps.. in fact, the person now sitting next to him was the one he had just been thinking of.

The one he had spent most of the morning since he arrived at school sketching.

And she was staring right at the sketch without any expression on her face.

For a moment he considered doing something ridiculous like putting it away and pretending he hadn’t just been working on a sketch of Chloé mid-transformation to Queen Bee, even if she was staring right at it.

The moment stretched on for an unknown period with him holding his breath and her eyes roaming over every detail on the page, before she suddenly looked up at him _and smiled._

Suddenly Nathaniel went from being frozen because oh-shit-the-very-scary-girl-caught-me to oh-shit-the-pretty-girl-is-smiling-at-me-and-my-brain-stopped-working.

He was still in the process of restarting his brain when she suddenly got up and headed in the direction of their classroom, Sabrina falling in beside her. She looked back at him just before entering the class with one eyebrow raised for a fleeting moment, before disappearing from view – likely to talk with Madame Bustier.

She had been meeting with their teacher just before class for almost a week now – a fact he most certainly did not know because his eyes had been following her every morning for almost two. Nope, he definitely was not being distracted by her at all.

*************************************************

Caline Bustier watched with an expectant smile as she saw her class enter for the last period of the day. It had taken some convincing for Chloé to convince her, and then even more to arrange everything with Principle Damocles, but he had given – she suspected largely because of how Chloé used to get her father involved whenever she didn’t get her way.

She was exceptionally proud of how much Chloé had changed this last year, even if it seemed there weren’t many people to realise or acknowledge how hard she was trying. Granted, she wouldn’t have expected the catalyst for that change to be a magic piece of jewellery or a role-model in a Ladybug-spotted one piece super suit – but whatever works, she supposed.

_Still, I know there is something about this whole thing that isn’t what it seems. I don’t believe Chloé is intending anything malicious – actually I don’t see how it could be malicious. Regardless, I’ll keep a close eye on everyone today. It’s such a shame that Marinette will be late today, but her parents had made arrangements almost a week ago.. something about a rare visit from a relative? Still, she should be back before Chloé’s surprise is over. Speaking of._

“All right class, settle down please, I have an announcement to make,” she said, waiting until everyone had quieted, “now today we won’t be continuing with the week’s work, as Chloé has arranged a surprise for everyone.. Chloé, how about you come up here and explain?”

“If I must,” she said with an exaggerated sigh, but wasted no time in coming to stand at the front and turning to face the classroom.

“Long story short, because I honestly couldn’t be bothered to share it, Jagged Stone will be holding a surprise, indoor charity concert at the Le Grand Paris – and you are all invited, no charge. You’re welcome,” she finished with an air of indifference.

The class was silent for a moment, before everyone started talking excitedly, discussing their favourite songs and how much fun it might be.. and then the attention was suddenly shifted when Rose spoke up, addressing Lila loud enough for the entire class to hear:

“Oh Lila, you must be so excited to see him again! I’m sure he’ll want to catch up with you, but do you think you could introduce us to him? We won’t act too much like starstruck fans, we promise!”

_Oh that’s right, Lila has befriended Jagged Stone when she saved his kitten! Such an extraordinary life this girl has lead. Well, it should be a happy surprise to see him again for her at least. But then.. am I imagining the look of apprehension on her face?_

Before Lila could answer however, Chloé had spoken up:

“I am sad to say that Jagged has expressly requested no backstage visitors or friends, as he is also taking this opportunity of being in Paris to visit his honorary niece..”

_There. I definitely did not imagine her Lila’s relief at this announcement. Maybe she just doesn’t know how to tell her friends no..? She is still relatively new, so maybe that.._

Her thoughts were distracted however by something strange – Sabrina had her phone out and was staring at it intently, before making a ‘go ahead’ motion in Chloé’s direction – and suddenly Chloé shot a victorious grin at Lila, whose eyes suddenly widened in apprehension.

“However! He loves his fans, and therefore has agreed to have a meet-and-greet with our class.. right now!” and with timing so opportune that she realised Chloé and Sabrina had to have planned it, Jagged Stone entered the room with a grin, followed by Penny Rolling and Marinette of all people.

_Wasn’t she meeting a relative..? Maybe they just ran into each other outside of school._

*************************************************

The moment Adrien saw Chloé shoot a victorious smirk at Lila just after Marinette came in with Jagged Stone, he started laughing. He didn’t care that Nino and Alya were looking at him funny, or that Marinette had that cute frown on her face she got when she was trying to work out a problem – he could worry about looking sane later.

Trust Chloé to do something so.. over-the-top and convoluted in order to apologise to someone. He hadn’t actually told Chloé that Lila was.. whatever the hell you’d describe her as, but it didn’t surprise him that she saw through all of the lies. Considering how everyone knew about the issues Marinette had with Lila (even if most of the class believed Lila rather than Marinette) – in Chloé’s mind, revealing that Marinette had been telling the truth the whole time would be the perfect apology..

Though he should probably just inform Marinette of that fact. Not many people get Chloé.

“Good afternoon rocker gals and rocker gents! Are you all excited about the concert tonight?!” Jagged demanded, going so far as to jump on top of Madame Bustier’s desk while addressing the class.

Seeing how everyone was gathering around Jagged Stone, he figured it was probably his best chance to talk to Marinette. He reached where she and Madame Bustier was standing just soon enough to catch the tail end of a question:

“..parents had a visiting relative?”

Marinette got a sudden abashed look on her face and said in an almost exasperated tone:

“Well that’s not strictly true.. Jagged just sort of proclaimed himself my honorary uncle?”

Adrien had to try and hold in his laughter at the gobsmacked look on their teacher’s face – a task that became infinitely more difficult when Penny interjected:

“The honorary part isn’t precisely voluntary, he just couldn’t convince your grandfather to adopt him – and believe me he tried. I believe the last time your grandfather chased him off with a rolling pin, yelling something about an English invasion.”

He saw how Marinette covered her face and started incoherently mumbling about older people trying to embarrass her- though whether she was referring to her grandfather or to Jagged Stone he didn’t know.

Still, he had a fun conversation trying to explain to Marinette that the chaos of today was probably Chloé apologising for everything – he was unbelievably happy that he and Marinette had gotten closer this last year. She used to almost always find an excuse to leave when it was just the two of them, and he had worried that she either disliked him or found his father too intimidating.. he never did find out why she stopped though.

The adorable way she could get her sentences mixed up, before blushing furiously? Those he missed.. When was the last time that happened anyway? He and Marinette had fallen into a comfortable silence, just watching Jagged interact with the rest of their class while Madame Bustier and Penny Rolling were making small talk in the background, when the conversations around Jagged got suddenly more interesting when Rose asked about Lila’s song.

His face now sporting a Cheshire grin, Adrien grabbed Marinette’s hand and pulled her along so they could stand right at the back of the group still excited about meeting a music icon.

*************************************************

Nathaniel was starting to get really confused. This whole day had been one confusing mess actually, culminating in meeting his favourite musician and for some reason having Sabrina keep moving between him and Alix or him and Juleka.

Changing seats, pushing into conversations.. it was weird. Added to that, he was still trying to figure out what that look between Chloé and Lila was about – not one he had seen because his eyes were almost constantly searching her out, obviously.

_Yeah I’m several different kinds of screwed, and none of them are pleasant._

Luckily he was distracted as Rose chose that moment to ask:

“Mister Jagged Stone sir, are you going to be trying to see Lila while you’re in Paris?”

The rest of the class fell silent – most out of curiosity, but some out of a sort of excited apprehension.

Jagged seemed to blink at the bubbly girl, before shaking his head and saying:

“Well I suppose that depends – the devil is a lye-la?” in a confused sort of tone.

Nathaniel felt his eyes widen, and looking around saw that most of the class was mimicking his expression. Except Chloé (obvious coincidence he looked at her first), Sabrina, Marinette and Adrien.

_Huh, that’s kind of weird. What’s going on?_

It was at that moment that Lila stepped forward and spoke in an uncharacteristically hesitant tone:

“I.. I’m Lila. Lila Rossi? We met a few years ago in that airport in Egypt?”

He seemed to take a moment to study her face, before pursing his lips.

“Sorry lass, I ain’t got no head for names or faces.. hold on a moment. Oi! Penny! Do I know any Lila? Think Egypt!”

The entire class turned as one to watch Penny, whose eyes seemed to stare of into the distance before starting to flicker back and forth, like she was watching the world’s fastest tennis match.

“Got an eidetic memory that one – remembers almost everything. Very handy for someone like me that travels all over meeting new people,” Jagged whispered to them.

“None that I recall. It is the sight of your next expedition with Miss Lovegood, though I doubt you’d mix up her name into Lila. Why do you ask?”

Nathaniel was starting to put a few things together from today, and if he was right.. well he’d probably have to go to Chloé for tips on how to properly apologise. Him and the rest of their class!

Jagged turned, frowning at Lila before he continued speaking:

“Well this lass here supposedly knows me – but neither you or I can recall her. It’s likely that..-”

“Oh Jagged don’t be silly,” Lila interrupted, “Penny wasn’t there when I met you. In fact she wasn’t around any of the times we hung out!”

“Not there..?” he started in disbelief, “In what world would Penny not be there? Runs my life, she does! In fact, I see Penny more than me own Mum – bless her rocker raising soul. How on Earth do you claim we met?”

Nathaniel instantly picked up on the fact that Jagged said _claim_ rather than just asking about how they met. Yep, warning bells going off all around now, judging from the rapid paling of Alya’s face.

“Dude don’t you remember her saving your kitten? I would definitely remember someone saving my pet – especially as heroically as Lila did!” Kim suddenly spoke up, likely hoping to be helpful.. although Nathaniel now realised he was nothing short of damning.

“Saved my pet kit..?” Jagged managed to sputter out, before yelling in indignation, “I’ve never owned a kitten! How would a kitten be Rock ‘n Roll? It’s just not done! My beloved pet Fang is a _crocodile_ , and if you little rockers have been believing this.. this.. techno-lover’s lies, a much better judge of character too!”

The class had varying reactions – some just had shocked looks on their faces, Juleka seemed to be saying something to Marinette, Sabrina was still standing at his side like a sentry (with Chloé beside her), Ivan appeared to be consoling Mylene who had tears in her eyes and Alix and Alya had spun on Lila and was now berating her with a vengeance.

“’course Fang loves Marinette, but then again who doesn’t?” Jagged continued, completely oblivious and seemingly looking around for something – though the end-of-school bell chose that moment to ring.

“Aha! Marinette, why are you hiding here at the back..? Oho! Because you’re keeping a boyfriend to yourself, eh? We’ll just have to take him along! Your parents are putting me and Penny up until the concert tonight, so I can take that time to see if this boy is good enough for my favourite niece!” and so saying, he threw his arms over each of their shoulders and steered them out of the class, unnoticed by anybody else – the last thing he heard was Marinette exclaiming she wasn’t his niece, and Jagged countering something about that being her grandfather’s fault not his.

Shaking his head in amusement, he turned around to go pack up his things and go – only for his bag to be pushed into his arms by Sabrina followed by her pushing him in the direction of the door.

He was still reeling from the strangeness of the act when he exited the class, only for his free hand to be suddenly grabbed by Chloé while she pulled him along to their empty science lab and closed the door behind them.

“Alright Scarlet listen up – I’m going to ask you a few questions, and you’re going to answer them quickly – got it?”

Nathaniel just stood there staring at her. Honestly, what else was he supposed to do? They maintained contact for long enough that it should have become awkward, but it didn’t – and suddenly something sparked between them.

Chloé started blushing, a scene he would most definitely be painting when he got home, and he gulped before nodding at her to show he would answer her questions.

She looked momentarily startled, like she hadn’t exactly expected him to agree, before speaking:

“Right, okay. This is.. this is great. Okay, first question – are you romantically interested in Alix?”

“Is.. is that a joke..?” he started, though seeing her honest confusion, he explained, “Haven’t you ever wondered why she and Kim are constantly competing? They have a wager – the one who loses the most contests has to ask the other one out. They’re not exactly together but..” he shrugged, “They probably will be soon.”

“Okay, that’s utterly ridiculous, but whatever works for them I guess. Second question – Are you still romantically interested in Marinette?”

Gulping nervously, and strictly focusing on _not_ wondering about why Chloé was asking these questions, he answered more honestly than he normally would have:

“No.. not sure if I really was to be honest, but she is so _good_ and friendly, it’s hard not to get drawn in by it.”

He might have imagined it, but he thought he saw her smile a bit at that.

“Are you romantically interested in Juleka?” she asked softly.

Rather than answer out loud, he just shook his head in the negative. She stepped closer to him then, closer than he was usually comfortable with people getting, and he noticed for the first time that with the heels she usually wore they stared almost directly into each other’s eyes.

Finally, she asked in almost a whisper, “Could you be romantically interested in me?”

Without conscious thought he nodded, because what was the point of denying it? Seeing the smile she wore after that admission made him change his mind – the blush could wait, this smile would be the thing he stayed up all night working on.

*************************************************

Marinette had just finished making everyone coffee, and returned to her living room to find the only seat available next to a nervous-looking Adrien – Penny sharing the couch across from him with Jagged who had his guitar out and was distractedly strumming a few notes every once in a while.

“Now Marinette, tell me why you haven’t handled this Lila Rossi yet?” Penny’s suddenly stern voice interrupted her thoughts, “It is clear to me that she is nothing but a bully, and from the stand-offish behaviour of your friends it is also obvious that you are her main target. It may be nothing serious now, but how long do you think it will take before she escalates to something physical?”

Marinette wasn’t quite quick enough to hide the wince on her face, judging by the narrowing of Penny’s eyes.

“Unless it already has..?”

“Of course it hasn’t!” interjected Adrien suddenly, “Marinette would have told me if something like that happened, right?” he finished, looking expectantly at her.

She watched his face go completely blank upon seeing the expression on her own face, before changing.

It was something intense, and a little bit frightening – something she’d never seen on Adrien Agreste’s face yet was almost achingly familiar.

“ _Marinette._ ”

She resisted the urge to shiver at his tone; it wasn’t a question. It was a demand; a demand to know about something that might have hurt her – which was giving her all sorts of funny feelings to think about.

“It’s not as bad as you think, I swear! She may have slapped me once, but I punched her in the nose right after, and she hasn’t tried anything like that since!”

If the situation wasn’t so serious, she might have laughed at the strange mixture of anger and relief on Adrien’s face.. although it seemed Jagged had no qualms about chuckling.

“Bloody girl’s got the luck of the devil though. A knock on the nose is getting of easy for someone messing with the Cat’s Lady..” he managed to get out between chuckles..

Before stopping his guitar strumming suddenly bolting upright and with wide eyes.

“Shouldn’t have said that. Should not have said that,” he said in a nervous tone, with Marinette staring at him in confusion.

“Who is messing with Lady Bug?!” Adrien growled out at the same time Marinette demanded “Who told Chat Noir ?!”

Their outbursts only seemed to make Jagged even more nervous, as he kept switching his gaze between the two of them before finally stuttering out:

“You.. you mean you haven’t told each other yet..? Oh bugger! I _definitely_ shouldn’t have told you that!”

Marinette frowned in confusion, trying to make sense of the last few moments of conversation.. and suddenly she knew where she had seen that intense expression before. It was the one Chat Noir wore every time she got hurt or was threatened directly by an akuma.

_Could Adrien be my Kitty..?_

Unbeknownst to Marinette, she had asked that question aloud – and in the time she took considering the possibility, Adrien had already connected the dots.

The next thing Marinette knew she was bodily lifted from the couch and spun through the air.

“My Lady! I can’t believe I’ve been this close to you this whole time!” Adrien exclaimed, his voice a strange mix of joy and laughter.

“I really want to kiss you now,” he said after he finally put her down, and she was still forming the words to say that she had other guests to entertain Penny interrupted with a smirk:

“Marinette, Adrien, sorry to trouble you, but would you mind waiting in your room for 30 minutes or so? Jagged and I have some.. work to discuss, which needs to remain private.”

Marinette had barely waited until Penny finished before she grabbed Adrien’s hand and started pulling him up into her room.

A few seconds later, Adrien stuck his head back down and said:

“We uh, don’t want to intrude on any of your private business, so we’re just going to close the trapdoor, okay?” and not even waiting for an answer shut it after himself.

Penny shook her head in amusement.

“If those two don’t end up marrying, I’ll lose all hope in the concept of true love.”

“Well that’s not fair, luv!” Jagged pouted, “I haven’t even proposed yet and you’re already so cynical..”

Leaving Penny to just sit there, completely dumbstruck.

Suddenly he slapped his hand to his forehead and looked at her from the corner of his eyes:

“I shouldn’t have told you that.. I should not have told you that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the late posting, almost didn't get this one finished but here you here. Read and review if you don't mind, I am trying to improve here.


End file.
